I think this is a great ad and sure winning issue for Scott Walker! This train is an absolute boondoggle. I am not sure where Thomas is coming up with the 75,000 riders and if that is an annual rider estimate or the average annual number of drivers between Milwaukee and Madison on I-94. Personally, I think the focus on whether or not high speed rail is necessary in Wisconsin should be around facts not misleading cliques like "foriegn-oil" and artificial rider estimates. I wonder if most people know we import twice as much oil from Canada each month as Saudi Arabia. Or that we actually import more oil / year from Mexico than we do Saudi Arabia. In fact, on average, only about 9% of our foreign oil comes from Saudi Arabia and 60% of our oil come from non-OPEC nations(Canada, Mexico, and Russia). Let's just leave foreign oil out of this discussion, it is misleading an distracts from the issue at hand.
Our current rail service in Milwaukee, the Hiawatha Amtrak line, loses money year over year even with a massive government subsity from the Wisconsin, Illinois, and US DOTs. I would love to see Governor Doyle or Mayor Barrett's fact sheet and statistical analysis on how a commuter line between Madison and Milwaukee will a) be profitable for commerce in Wisconsin when every stop along the Amtrak line in Wisconsin is a dead zone (go check out Sturnavant, the Airport, or Intermodal station); b)will attract more riders than the commuter line to the 3rd largest urban center in the United States?
If a rail line between Milwaukee and Chicago is not profitable how will a high speed train to Madison ever be profitable for our citizens? Also, how will someone trying to run a restaurant in Manitowish Waters, WI (way up in Vilas County) ever see any value from a commuter train in south-eastern Wisconsin?
Final thought. This seem glazed over by the press but did anyone else notice that Mayor Barrett's office recently assessed the Intermodal station at about $1.5 million dollars? Boy that was a great $15 million dollar investment! Also, did anyone else pick up on the fact that Governor Doyle paid all the back due property taxes the Intermodal station owed to the City of Milwaukee to prevent Mayor Barrett's city government from foreclosing on the property. I am glad we have Mark Belling in this city to keep up up to date on this stuff!!
Way to go with this Scott, I know from watching you in Milwaukee for 8 years that we can count on you to watch our backs! You got my vote.
I think this is a great ad and sure winning issue for Scott Walker! This train is an absolute boondoggle. I am not sure where Thomas is coming up with the 75,000 riders and if that is an annual rider estimate or the average annual number of drivers between Milwaukee and Madison on I-94. Personally, I think the focus on whether or not high speed rail is necessary in Wisconsin should be around facts not misleading cliques like "foriegn-oil" and artificial rider estimates. I wonder if most people know we import twice as much oil from Canada each month as Saudi Arabia. Or that we actually import more oil / year from Mexico than we do Saudi Arabia. In fact, on average, only about 9% of our foreign oil comes from Saudi Arabia and 60% of our oil come from non-OPEC nations(Canada, Mexico, and Russia). Let's just leave foreign oil out of this discussion, it is misleading an distracts from the issue at hand.
Our current rail service in Milwaukee, the Hiawatha Amtrak line, loses money year over year even with a massive government subsity from the Wisconsin, Illinois, and US DOTs. I would love to see Governor Doyle or Mayor Barrett's fact sheet and statistical analysis on how a commuter line between Madison and Milwaukee will a) be profitable for commerce in Wisconsin when every stop along the Amtrak line in Wisconsin is a dead zone (go check out Sturnavant, the Airport, or Intermodal station); b)will attract more riders than the commuter line to the 3rd largest urban center in the United States?
If a rail line between Milwaukee and Chicago is not profitable how will a high speed train to Madison ever be profitable for our citizens? Also, how will someone trying to run a restaurant in Manitowish Waters, WI (way up in Vilas County) ever see any value from a commuter train in south-eastern Wisconsin?
Final thought. This seem glazed over by the press but did anyone else notice that Mayor Barrett's office recently assessed the Intermodal station at about $1.5 million dollars? Boy that was a great $15 million dollar investment! Also, did anyone else pick up on the fact that Governor Doyle paid all the back due property taxes the Intermodal station owed to the City of Milwaukee to prevent Mayor Barrett's city government from foreclosing on the property. I am glad we have Mark Belling in this city to keep up up to date on this stuff!!
Way to go with this Scott, I know from watching you in Milwaukee for 8 years that we can count on you to watch our backs! You got my vote.